Sunday, September 26, 2010

I decided to revisit my first uninspiring blog post by posting a few of the less full on bushy bushy black short and curly hairdo pics of the adorable Loletta Lee Lai-chun, from her erotic photo album, Reminiscence. The pictorial is actually quite well done and tasteful. It's playful and rather softcore erotic than hardcore. Though the album is played lightly, the images are not quite soft focus or vaseline lensed and the joyful and tender Loletta blazes brightly through the pages. Loletta is pixie-like and a beautiful subject, in or out of clothes. I am an admirer of Loletta's acting career and have followed her film work, both mainstream and CAT III offerings. Starting out in lightweight features alongside shiny stars like Andy Lau Tak-wah and Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Loletta also worked for top flight directors like Tsui Hark and Michael Mak Dong-kit. During the CAT III eruption of the early 90's, Loletta switched gears a touch and added her nubile charms to a handful of fine nudie pics like CRAZY LOVE, GIRLSUNBUTTON, and SEX & ZEN II. A risky move, going from mainstream to skin flick, and a possible career killer. Loletta endured and came out on top....if you will. Careening back into mainstream films with some success, her return to popular film, I believe, marred by the industry being in the doldrums in the latter part of the 90's. Still, Loletta has made a decent comeback in smaller films for more name directors like Ann Hui On-wah, Herman Yau Lai-to, and recent HK flavor of the month filmmaker Derek Kwok Chi-kin. These scans have been altered a bit. I have upped the dpi (I just found out what the heck 'dpi' is and now I think i'm cool because I have learned some cool lingo) to fit a project a friend is working on. A friend who contacted me through my blog. Because i'm cool. I have also sent him other scans of a CAT III nature that I hope fit his projects needs. When I get word on the projects release, I will post links, for sure. And I just want to say the word 'project' again. Project.

Here's a link to my second blog post. A short write up of Loletta Lee Lai-chun's GIRLSUNBUTTON, including a pic of the poster.

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Also, check out my buddy Ken's recent in depth review of GIRLS UNBUTTON, over at So Good Reviews.com!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The beautiful and top heavy Cammy Choi Mei-lan headlines this ribald CAT III romp where the main attraction is Cammy's mammaries. Cammy plays a struggling nightclub singer who uses her enormous charm(s) to get ahead (man, these puns are awful. Apologies.) Cracking through into the film biz, Cammy is employed as a CAT III thespian, which quickly looses it's luster as she is used and abused by the films director as a piece of meat. Ditching the jade screen, she heads behind the scene's and uses her Russ Meyerian proportions as a PR/PA for the film company.

CAT III or bust!-

In 1993, Cammy won the 'Most Photogenic' award at the Miss Asia Pageant. And photogenic she is. Her claim to fame though, with the boobies obsessed CAT III moviegoer, was her gargantuan ninnies. In REBEKAH, they are lovingly on display, flopping this way and that, to the admiration and growing groins of CAT III lovers, i'm sure. Enormous rack aside, REBEKAH is a filthy and fun film that operates in it's own tasteless world. The kind of world where bangin' guys in the john and running a train on a prostitute is ok. When characters in REBEKAH acquire 'VD' due to their prurient behavior, they visually sport a ton of red dots all over their faces. Now doesn't that sound like a film that is worth your time? Cammy's film career was unfortunately short, only logging time in 4 films. She also bounced around in the wonderful Otto Chan Juk-tiu's 1996 CAT III horror nudie, DEVIL'S WOMAN, again, sans blouse, and lent her curvaceous figure to the godawful turkey, HONG KONG SHOWGILRS, opposite other CAT III strippers, Veronica Yip Yuk-hing and 'Mystical Breasts' Dian Pang Dan. The latter film is a CAT IIA clunker that almost drove me away from HK cinema completely. Avoid it like a carny.

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Below is a brief scene from REBEKAH, where we see why Cammy left the glitz and glamour of the screen to become a high profile mamasan. Is there a difference in occupation, really? A 'whore' in front of the camera or behind? That appears to be the flimsy question proposed by the filmmakers here. Then again, maybe the film is not trying to be smart at all? I always find myself trying to make meaning out of muck. Maybe REBEKAH just is what it is. That's not a bad thing. Jimmy Wong Shu-kei appears in this clip and riffs on Anthony Wong Chau-sang's 'Bunman' character from THE UNTOLD STORY. Pleasing stuff. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Fun poster for the 1999 Billy Chung Siu-hung directed camp offering, TRUST ME U DIE. Chung has made a name for himself in HK cinema as a decent/hack genre director. Chung seems very inconsistent in his offerings in terms of quality. He can easily employ any genre but as time wasters. Nothing with ballast. Now, that is not always a knock. He has been associated with Wong Jing for some time and has lensed some fine exploitation entertainment since squatting in the directors chair in the early 90's. An early CAT III goodie of his, 1993's LOVE TO KILL, starring Anthony Wong Chau-sang and Danny Lee Sau-yin is a favorite nasty of mine. I have the poster for that film and will get around to putting it up.

TRUST ME U DIE is one of the oddest HK productions you are likely to see that has genre heavyweights Simon Yam Tat-wah and Mark Cheng Ho-nam chewing it up as old med school chums who chum the waters of good taste as they reunite for some abhorrentbehavior. The film appears to be a pastiche of genres that mixes the finer exploitation elements of heavy handed melodrama, off the wall comedy, and the forcible touching of the best that CAT III films have to offer. The film is only rated IIB but could best be described as Category III 'lite.'

How's bout a little hot Yam injection?-

The film lovingly pushes the boundary of shit taste and for me is a winner, especially in it's time and place in HK cinema. Made well down wind from the height of HK CAT III exploitation films, TRUST ME U DIE is a trip back to the future of the warped mind that used to inhabit HK's hey day cinema.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

My birthday was this weekend and it was a goodie. Above, you can see the b-day swag I got from Wei. 115 HK laser discs! I think she's a keeper?! Last week I came across an Ebay auction for these laser discs and easily persuaded Wei to buy these as my b-day gift. The seller lived only 45 minutes or so away, in Queens. So, instead of paying an extra 60 bucks for shipping, we arranged for me to go to his apartment and pick the discs up. I felt a bit uneasy about meeting the seller in person. Through a few email contacts back and forth, it was clear that he wasn't a collector and was just some lucky shlub to have come across these discs and wanted to parlay them into a quick buck. He obviously didn't know what he had as I've seen some of these discs selling on Ebay for mucho dinero. But, who knows how much they are worth? And I don't really care about their monetary worth. They are more valuable to me as a HK cinema lover and shithouse collector.

LITTLE COP, BRAVEFUL POLICE-

So, Wei and I were heading into Flushing for a b-day dinner at a great Taiwanese restaurant called Red Chopsticks, when we made a detour to go pick up my b-day gift. Driving to this fellas house I had flashing visions of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and Buffalo Bill. My mind worked out a scenario where I would knock on the sellers door, he would answer with a candelabra to my noggin', drag my lifeless slab down into his basement, shove me into a deep trench, change into female underthings, apply lipstick, stick his shmeckle between his legs, turn up the Q Lazarus on his hi-fi, stare at himself in a mirror exclaiming, "I'd fuck me!", lower a basket of lotion down to me, request that I apply it liberally all over my man boobs while saying, "It rubs the lotion on it's skin or else it gets the hose again", and then holler bloody murder, "Put the fucking lotion in the basket!" After I snapped out of my personal horror with a shudder, we pulled up to the gentleman's home. I asked Wei to keep the car running and have 911 typed into her phone, ready to send.

LOVE TO KILL, DOUG'S CHOICE-

I rang the doorbell, stepped back, palms sweaty and ass clenched a tad too tight from fear. He answered the door and was every damn bit of the 'Buffalo Bill' that I had envisioned. Tall, round body, long scraggly gray hair, baked bean looking teeth that were widely spaced out, long and curiously neat manicured yellowish fingernails, nose hairs like unkempt pubics running amok, and a lonely mans smell. The smell of Vaseline. I almost shit myself. He said hello through the screen door, turned, and waved me in. I paused, looked back at Wei for a sec, and then reluctantly entered his home. The box of laser discs were in his foyer and he lifted a few out to show me the quality. He said he had a few more upstairs that he would give me for free. I prayed he wouldn't ask me further into his home, "Please don't invite me upstairs! Please don't invite me upstairs! Please don't invite me upstairs!" And he didn't. He went to get the other discs and I took my box of goodies back into the god lovin' fresh air and sunlight. Back to Wei. Avoiding a dark trenched and lotioned man boob fate. He came back with the other discs, bent my ear for a few minutes about immaterial matters, and asked, "If I get more Chinese laser discs would you buy them? A dollar a piece?" I said I definitely would. Shook his hand with a "Thank you," and returned to Wei's car where my ass declenched and I exhaled with a sigh of relief.

GHOST'S LOVE, THE DARE DEVILS

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Now it was on to Flushing and my b-day dinner. Did a little more HK movie shopping and took a gamble on a mainland copy of the new Shu Qi/ Aaron Kwok big budget craptioner, CITY UNDERSIEGE, for $8. Headed over to Red Chopsticks and devoured some porkchop on rice, jellyfish, oyster pancake, and stinky tofu. My post traumatizing Ebay laser disc experience dinner is pictured below. As for the CITY UNDER SIEGE disc, when I got home later that night I popped the disc in to check the quality. Wonderful quality but, alas, no English subtitles. Sometimes Chinatown is a gamble. This time I took the gamble and lost. Damn you C-town. Damn you straight to heck! A few of the laser discs that were part of my b-day swag are pictured above.

Red Chopsticks. Flushing, Queens, NY-

B-day backyard Korean BBQ-

Later in the weekend we finished celebrating my b-day with a backyard Korean BBQ that the future in laws and family threw for me. The food was delicious and the conversations throughout the yard were loud, funny, and interspersed with the sounds of English, Mandarin, and Mandarish. As the sun fell, the beautiful September air became more crisp. Layers of clothing were added and a lot of warm Green Tea was downed. Green Tea being Wei's fathers specialty. As the darkness progressed and the party crowd became thin, in the nighttime sky to the west, was a beam of light. The 9/11 tribute lights that pushed through the darkness and reached wondrous heights could be seen from Wei's backyard. It was once a melancholy day, celebrating my b-day on the same day as an international tragedy. Without minimizing the days place, reflection on that horrific day will always linger, but my birthdays are now a more joyous occasion being surrounded by a warm family and new friends who genuinely care about me. The inclusion of Hong Kong films helps as well, of course.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Like 'Friday Filler', 'Monday Moo Shu' is when i'm too lazy to write anything or don't have much to say. I thought 'Monday Moo Shu' rolled off the tongue nicely? And made me hungry. So I went with it. And now i'm eating. So enjoy ShumWai'sSCANNERS moment from the 1986 Nam Nai-choi directed THEGHOST SNATCHERS. Also included is a fractured sub, Gordon LiuChia-hui in a kungfu en espanol VHS ad, and a sweet clip of the #1 vampire killer/ghost buster, Lam Ching-ying taking on Billy Chow Bei-lei in the super cool WIZARD'S CURSE, from 1992. Enjoy the moo shu!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Ms. Mail Lady delivered another beautiful package to me yesterday. A box o' HK laser discs. I'm about 25 years late to the laser disc party but better late than never. I got my first one last X-mas and have since amassed a small collection of 80 discs! Money that could have gone into savings for a house or a wedding or to pay off that dang engagement ring! But, whatever? Money well spent. Houses, wives, and Blood Diamonds come and go but laser discs are forever. Now, all I need is an actual laser disc player and then i'll be cookin' with grease! About 20 of these laser discs, i'm happy to report, are of the CAT III variety. Below are a few pics of the most recent dirty pretty things.

A WOMAN & A MAN '93, A WILD PARTY

EROTIC HERO TALE, CRAZY LOVE-

-SHOUT OUTS!!!!-

Through the miracle of Facebook, I have also amassed many a HK film lovin' friend. Each has their own beautiful flavor and spin on our beloved cinema and have so gosh darn much to give. And, along with their friendship, they have given me many moments of mirth, contemplation, and in regards to the Shelf Life Clothing Company, large man-nipple coverage. Please check out my buddy Brian Kirby's clothing company for some kick ass gear. Original works of bright and wonderful Asian/western/action film inspired art adorn t-shirts, polos, hoodies, skate decks, posters, and jackets. I have ordered a thing or two from Shelf Life and parade the gear around proudly. I'm the cock of the walk when i'm in my Shelf Life clothing.

Look at this studly blogmaster in his rockin' Shelf Life gear! Don't you wish you were like him? I know I do!

Another great Shelf Life purchase. Keeps me warm when the cold winds of racially motivated irony blow!

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Mr. Kirby, while biding his time and noodling with his next art masterpiece, also runs the Facebook page (that I have mentioned ad nauseum) HONG KONG SUBTITLES. I will allow you to leave my blog to go check out both of Brian's wonderful creations. And if you know what's good for you, and want to be cool like me, order some sweet Shelf Life duds. But please come back! I have someone else I would like you to meet!

Achillesgirl. If you're afraid of a knowledgeable woman with a passion for Asian cinema, then shame on you. You'd be missing out on her wonderful blog (which is in it's infancy) about Asian movies. Check her out as she whips and expounds about HK flickers and her love for the mighty mighty Shaw Bros. Achillesgirl is also lending her kung fu kickin' cranium to the Hong Kong Cinemagic site as a top Shaw Bros. film reviewer. Take a look at some of her work:

Achillesgirl gots the goods! I would love to keep her blog truckin', so spread the word far and wide. She's an alternative and refreshing voice that cuts nicely through the faux kung fu cinema fan machismo bullshit.

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About Me

Hong Kong Cinema is like sex and pizza. Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.
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I have had a love affair with Hong Kong Cinema for over 17 years now. I have accumulated over 3,000 HK films and many other HK film related items throughout those 17 years. With this blog, I am hoping to share my collection with other HK cinema fans. With my writing, I am trying to keep things light,fun,and tongue in cheek in hopes that my love affair with HK cinema continues and remains as fresh as the days I first fell in love with it. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!